On occasion, a client will come in after a few weeks or months and say something like “I’ve been doing this for ‘x’ amount of time and I’m not seeing any results”; this inevitably leads to a discussion as to what they are doing exactly to try and determine if we are missing something. A majority of the time, when we begin asking specific questions about what they are doing, we find that they are not following their recommended plan of action. (more…)

According to conventional wisdom, the infamous “beer belly” is caused by excess alcohol calories being stored as fat. Yet, less than five percent of the alcohol calories you drink are turned into fat. Rather, the main effect of alcohol is to reduce the amount of fat or carbohydrate your body burns for energy, along with increasing your appetite and dramatically decreasing your testosterone levels. (more…)

“Why is it so difficult to lose weight?”

Obesity isn’t just a calorie problem or an exercise problem – it is a metabolism problem. The fact is there are several fundamental underlying imbalances that prevent most people from losing weight and keeping it off. The problem is, they don’t know what those imbalances are and neither does their doctor. We can help find and address them.

Toxins include any substance the body cannot use and must eliminate. Some are created by the body as a part of normal metabolism, but most toxins come from our environment. Pesticides and herbicides; food additives, colorings and preservatives; air and water pollutants; and products we use such as drugs, alcohol and tobacco are all toxins. They can disrupt proper digestion and elimination, create hormone and neurotransmitter imbalances (which will affect your mood, energy, focus, concentration and pain levels), decrease energy production and disrupt your overall body chemistry.

Research has found that fat is not just a passive by-product of overeating; they have shown that body fat actually produces many inflammatory chemicals. This means that fat is not just a reservoir of excess calories waiting to someday be used as fuel when calorie intake runs low. It means that fat itself acts like an ‘organ of inflammation’, producing many of the chemicals responsible for creating a low-grade system-wide inflammatory state in the body. These chemicals include:

IL-6 (Interleukin-6)

IL-8 (Interleukin-8)

IL-18 (Interleukin-18)

TNF-α (Tumor necrosis factoralpha)

CRP (C-reactive protein)

Insulin

Blood glucose

Leptin

These markers of elevated inflammation are also one of the main reasons why obesity is associated with so many health conditions, including high blood pressure, heart disease, stroke, atherosclerosis, diabetes, arthritis and autoimmunity in addition to insulin resistance and obesity itself.

“Eat less, exercise more” we are told. This has been the accepted weight loss formula for as long as anyone can remember. And it doesn’t work. Only 2‐3% of dieters maintain weight loss for over three years. This system ‐ of having people track calories, keep track of points and/or eat pre‐packaged, pre‐made or processed meals ‐ does nothing to help people lose weight and only compounds the confusion.